Asked by: Gillian Keegan (Conservative - Chichester)
Question to the Department for Education:
To ask the Secretary of State for Education, pursuant to the oral contribution of the Prime Minister of 15 January 2020, Official Report column 1017, when he plans to make an announcement on changes to the apprenticeship levy.
Answered by Michelle Donelan
We continue to engage with employers on the working of the apprenticeship levy. We are committed to improving the apprenticeship programme to ensure it continues to deliver the skilled workforce that employers need. We will set out further detail on this in due course.
Asked by: Gillian Keegan (Conservative - Chichester)
Question to the Department for Transport:
To ask the Secretary of State for Transport, what steps his Department is taking to improve the road network in England.
Answered by George Freeman
Through the first Road Investment Strategy, the Government has invested £17.6 billion in England’s Strategic Road Network since 2015. We intend to make £28.8 billion from the National Roads Fund available for our most strategically important roads over the next five years from 1 April 2020.
In addition, we are providing funding to local highway authorities to support maintenance of their roads, and have pledged £2 billion for the country’s largest ever pothole fixing programme.
Asked by: Gillian Keegan (Conservative - Chichester)
Question to the Department for Business, Energy and Industrial Strategy:
To ask the Secretary of State for Business, Energy and Industrial Strategy, what plans she has in place to develop UK offshore wind generation capacity that meets net zero emissions targets and protects internationally important marine species and habitats.
Answered by Kwasi Kwarteng
We acknowledge the role of offshore wind in achieving the net zero target. We have provided more support for offshore wind than any other country in the world, helping us to reach record levels of renewable electricity generation in 2019. The UK accounts for around one third of world’s offshore wind capacity and has the world’s largest offshore wind market with 9.8GW of installed capacity which is expected to rise to 14GW by 2023 and 19.5GW by 2026.
We know that our European neighbours will also be deploying more offshore wind in shared sea spaces such as the North Sea. This continued pace of deployment drives the need to better understand the cumulative impacts. We are collaboratively working with the sector and wider stakeholders to address strategic deployment issues including cumulative environmental impacts on marine species and habitats.
Asked by: Gillian Keegan (Conservative - Chichester)
Question to the Department for Environment, Food and Rural Affairs:
To ask the Secretary of State for Environment, Food and Rural Affairs, what plans she has to replace EU LIFE funding for projects such as the Little Tern Recovery Project at Pagham Harbour after the UK leaves the EU.
Answered by Rebecca Pow
Projects funded under the L’Instrument Financier pour l’Environnement (LIFE) programme have played an important role in helping to implement environment policy in the UK. The Government’s 25 Year Environment Plan makes clear that public funding will continue to play an important role in protecting and enhancing our natural environment. Securing a negotiated exit from the EU would ensure that UK organisations could continue to access LIFE funding until the end of 2020. The UK Government has guaranteed to underwrite the funding for agreed LIFE projects led by UK organisations in the event of the funding from the EU stopping in a ‘no deal’ exit. Once the terms of the UK’s exit from the EU are clear, we will decide as part of the next multi-year Spending Review, whether the UK will seek to associate with the LIFE programme as a third country or whether domestic arrangements should be established.
Asked by: Gillian Keegan (Conservative - Chichester)
Question to the Foreign, Commonwealth & Development Office:
To ask the Secretary of State for Foreign and Commonwealth Affairs, what recent progress the Government has made with international partners on tackling climate change.
Answered by Heather Wheeler
Tackling climate change in collaboration with international partners is a high priority of this government, as evidenced most recently by the Prime Minister's recent commitment to double the UK's International Climate Finance funding to at least £11.6 billion between 2021/22 and 2025/26. Strong diplomatic engagement lies at the heart of the whole-of-government efforts required to tackle climate change, and Climate Change and Energy (CCE) work is a network-wide priority. Every Head of Mission in our global network has climate change diplomacy as a personal priority, and a priority for their Post.
As the first G7 country to legislate for net zero by 2050, the UK is leading the world's response to tackling climate change. Our position at the forefront of international efforts to tackle climate change will be consolidated through hosting COP26 in Glasgow next year in partnership with Italy.
Asked by: Gillian Keegan (Conservative - Chichester)
Question to the Department for Transport:
To ask the Secretary of State for Transport, if his Department will undertake a consultation of all the options for improving the Chichester section of the A27.
Answered by George Freeman
Highways England undertook a public consultation on the viable options for improving the Chichester section of the A27 in 2016. There are no current plans for another consultation on this subject.
Asked by: Gillian Keegan (Conservative - Chichester)
Question to the Department for Environment, Food and Rural Affairs:
To ask the Secretary of State for Environment, Food and Rural Affairs, when she plans to approve the final national call for applications to the European Agricultural Fund for Rural Development; and whether she has made an assessment of the trends in the time it takes for applications to be assessed and approved by her Department and the Rural Payments Agency.
Answered by George Eustice
My department is aiming to open a new round of national-level Rural Development Programme for England (RDPE) Growth Programme calls for business development, food processing and tourism infrastructure projects in early November. This will enable all stages of the project application and assessment process to be completed in time for funding to be awarded, in line with the Government’s guarantee to honour all funding commitments signed by the end December 2020.
Asked by: Gillian Keegan (Conservative - Chichester)
Question to the HM Treasury:
To ask the Chancellor of the Exchequer, what recent assessment he has made of the merits of introducing (a) fuel duty or (b) VAT on aviation fuel.
Answered by Simon Clarke
In line with international conventions to which the UK is party, the government does not tax commercial aviation fuel.
The government taxes airlines through Air Passenger Duty to ensure the aviation industry contributes to the cost of public services.
Asked by: Gillian Keegan (Conservative - Chichester)
Question to the Department for Business, Energy and Industrial Strategy:
To ask the Secretary of State for Business, Energy and Industrial Strategy, what steps her Department is taking to ensure (a) competitive and (b) fair market tariffs are available under the Smart Export Guarantee.
Answered by Kwasi Kwarteng
The level of remuneration under Smart Export Guarantee tariffs will be determined by suppliers, in line with the aim of moving away from direct subsidy to cost reflective pricing and competitive market-based solutions.
The Government have asked Ofgem to report annually on the provisions made by suppliers for smaller scale exporters, including the range, nature and uptake of Smart Export Guarantee tariffs.
The Government will actively monitor the development of this market and will consider reviewing these tariff setting arrangements, if it becomes clear that small generators are not able to access a competitive range of export tariff options.
Asked by: Gillian Keegan (Conservative - Chichester)
Question to the Ministry of Defence:
To ask the Secretary of State for Defence, if he will (a) undertake a review of the building quality at Baker Barracks, Thorney Island and (b) outline plans to ensure accommodation for serving service personnel is well maintained.
Answered by Anne-Marie Trevelyan
Further to the recent major refurbishment and investment totalling around £27 million, a site review of Baker Barracks is due to begin shortly. This will look at potential future areas for development, any refurbishment plans and provide a road map for the next 25 years.
All Service Family Accommodation is maintained through a programme of pre-planned improvement works, and response maintenance to repair defects. This approach means that all properties meet the Government's Decent Homes Standard at the point of occupation, with ongoing restorative action as required.
The Army is initiating an estate wide Single Living Accommodation (SLA) programme to improve the condition of Army SLA. The SLA at Baker Barracks will be considered and prioritised for funding within this programme.